Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from County Councillors Sumner and Shedwick and Councillor Jackson.

Members are asked to consider any pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests they may have to disclose to the meeting in relation to matters under consideration on the Agenda.

County Councillors Aldridge and Penney individually declared a non-pecuniary interest in relation to Item 8 on the agenda, the Integrated Risk Management Plan as both were Members of Lancashire County Council Development Control Committee; the body that deals with applications for planning permission and mineral extraction developments and for developments proposed by the County Council.

The Director of Corporate Services advised Members that in relation to the Retained Duty System Pay Review (resolution 55/16 refers) that the Fire Brigade Union had now held a vote and the result had been in favour of supporting the proposed scheme.  However, this would need to be ratified at their next regional meeting which could result in a delay to implement the scheme beyond 1 April 2017.

RESOLVED: - That the Minutes of the CFA held on 19 December 2016 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

RESOLVED: - That the proceedings of the North West Fire Forum held on 18 January 2017 be noted.

RESOLVED: - That the proceedings of the Audit Committee held on 26 January 2017 be noted.

RESOLVED: - That the proceedings of the Planning Committee held on 30 January 2017 be noted.

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer presented the report.  Integrated risk management planning provided Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) with the opportunity to detail what the Service aimed to do to identify and consider the full range of fire and rescue related risks across Lancashire. This ensured that both our communities and other interested parties were provided with details of how we intend to fulfil our responsibilities in a clear, cohesive manner.

At the Planning Committee meeting on the 21 November 2016, Members endorsed the publication of the draft Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) 2017-22 for consultation over a six week period from 28 November 2016 to 8 January 2017. Following the consultation period a final version of the plan was presented to Members of the Planning Committee on 30 January 2017, with a detailed report on the consultation process, its outcomes and any resulting amendments that were recommended for incorporation within the final version of the plan.  Members of the Planning Committee agreed that the consultation undertaken was sufficient and endorsed the proposed amendments which had been incorporated into the final version as now presented.

The new Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) 2017-2022 would be the Authority’s replacement for the current IRMP 2013-2017. This plan had been developed to be an overarching, enabling document which provided hyperlinks to all of LFRS’s strategic documents, such as the Annual Service Plan and Strategic Assessment of Risk. This delivered the opportunity for the Service to remain in a progressive position over the lifespan of the IRMP as these links would provide the pathways to the most up-to-date documents. This plan did not however detail the Emergency Cover review; this would be undertaken and consulted upon separately during 2017/18.

Our Values had been brought to life with enhanced definitions of the STRIVE acronym, this provided the building blocks to support our staff to continue to develop a working environment in which everyone could feel engaged, valued and respected.

The strategic risks that had been previously documented within the IRMP had been removed as they were now referenced within the Strategic Assessment of Risk. This new publication provided a comprehensive assessment of fire and rescue related risk to facilitate an improved risk picture that was refreshed and updated on an annual basis.

The Community Safety Strategy had been encapsulated within the IRMP highlighting the importance of the inter-locking components of Start Safe, Live Safe, Age Safe and Road Safe that remained at the core of our approach to reducing risk and improving public safety. As approved by the Planning Committee, this removed the requirement for a separate Community Safety Strategy.

Significant progress had been made with Climate Change and Environment responsibilities which were now thoroughly embedded and entrenched within Service planning, policies and procedures. Therefore the Climate Change and Environment Strategy had been encompassed within this new IRMP, thus negating any further need for a separate Climate Change and Environment Strategy document.

The approved IRMP 2017-22 would be published in early April 2017 and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68/16

The Director of Corporate Services advised that the current external audit appointment ended following the conclusion of the 2017/18 audits. As such the Authority would need to make alternative arrangements for appointing an auditor. In order to do so the Authority had 3 options:

·        Follow a sector led body;

·        Set up an Audit Panel, undertake a procurement process and make a stand-alone appointment;

·        Set up a Joint Auditor Panel, undertake a joint procurement panel and make a joint appointment.

In March 2016 a report was presented to the Audit Committee (as now considered by Members) which looked at these options and the Audit Committee agreed that following a sector led body was the best option to pursue at the time, minimising procurement costs and resource, maximising buying power and hence was likely to result in the lowest fees. Hence it was resolved “That the Committee agree to support the Local Government Association in setting up a national Sector Led Body by indicating an intention to opt-in.” (Resolution 22/15 refers.)

Further details relating to the sector led approach were presented to the Audit Committee in January 2017 (as now considered by Members).  Audit Committee Members had expressed concern that the audit fees would only be consulted on in the autumn, after the contracts had been awarded and asked for a more comprehensive report to be presented to the Authority at this meeting.

The Director of Corporate Services advised that the current situation remained as set out in the report, namely that the current contract expired and that a new contract must be in place by December 2017. The Authority could not have a period where it did not have an appointed external auditor.

Members considered the advantages and disadvantages of each option.

It was noted that currently 330 Authorities (more than 70% of all authorities) had opted in to the national sector led solution via Public Sector Audit Appointments. The Director of Corporate Services / Treasurer was not aware of any other Lancashire based Authority or any other Fire Authority that was pursuing a different option.

The concerns expressed by the Audit Committee revolved around the cost of the audit not being known until the Autumn consultation, after the contract had been awarded, and a question as to whether undertaking our own exercise would deliver a better value solution. The contract award criteria was split 50% on price and 50% on quality, hence it was clear that achieving a competitive price remained at the forefront of the exercise.

A national procurement exercise should provide greater buying power, clearly minimised individual authorities procurement costs, especially any costs associated with establishing and servicing an independent auditor appointment panel, and hence should deliver the greatest value for money. As such this was recommended as the best option to pursue.

RESOLVED:- that the Authority approve to opt-in to the national procurement being undertaken by Public Sector Appointments.

The Chief Fire Officer advised that on 7 February 2017 ACO Russel attended a speech organised by a government think tank, Reform in London.  Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service (LFRS) were one of 35 Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) represented. The Rt Hon Brandon Lewis, Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, gave a 30 minute speech on the “Next Steps for Fire Reform”.  The tone of the speech recognised some progress had been made in improving the FRS but it had to go “further and faster”.  He linked this speech to those from previous years to emphasise reoccurring themes that had still to be addressed which were: Outdated Working Policies; Lack of Diversity; No Independent Scrutiny; and Improving Procurement Procedures.

The lack of independent scrutiny would be remedied by the introduction of a new Inspectorate for the Fire Service looking at efficiency and effectiveness, with particular reference to response and prevention, Value for Money (VFM), understanding demand and future risks, together with its leadership, training, diversity, values and culture.  These areas would be complemented by thematic inspection, the first area being diversity, flexible employment and collaboration.  Inspections would commence this year and be complemented by a transformed peer review process.

Greater transparency and accountability would also be facilitated by the introduction of a new website providing incident and performance data.  It would mirror the police approach including information of Chief Fire Officers’ pay, expenditure, accounts, efficiency plans and workforce composition.

Regarding the Policing and Crime Act he confirmed the new term of Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners.  He did not propose a blanket takeover of FRS by these commissioners but did emphasise that a local business case could be made and that FRA were obliged to co-operate in preparing this.  The objection of a FRA to any proposed change would not be enough on its own to prevent a change occurring.  He emphasised the opportunity to make closer and stronger links between fire and police, and for FRA to work closer with Police and Crime Commissioners to get the best outcome for their Communities.

The Minister indicated his intention to work productively with the newly constituted National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), which he viewed as the operational voice of the FRS.  Also mentioned was the Chief Fire Officers Association’s (CFOA) work on peer review, procurement and standards.  There was also an increased emphasis on collaboration and he highlighted best practice with some examples provided.

To provide a consistent standard to test against, the Minister announced his intention to set up an Independent Standards Body.  This would provide guidance and standards on leadership, workforce development, equality and diversity and codify effective practice.  This could be integrated within or affiliated to the College of Policing.

Reference was made to culture and the Adrian Thomas Review which would be considered by Members as a separate item later on this agenda.  Suffice to say, great emphasis was made on diversity and the workforce composition reflecting the communities they served.

The speech reminded the audience  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70/16

A report regarding the publication of the Adrian Thomas Review on Conditions of Service was presented at the last CFA meeting in December 2016, where it was agreed (resolution 54/16 refers) that a detailed assessment of the Service’s position against the findings of the report would be presented to this Authority meeting. 

The Director of People and Development advised that the publication of the report in November 2016 was over two years after the Report was commissioned and a number of comments made had now become historical in context or overtaken by events.  Similarly, LFRS could demonstrate its position in a favourable light in respect of many of the findings, as the Service/Authority did do in respect of the Sir Ken Knight Review.  In effect, many of the issues directly in LFRS’ control were being progressed within existing activity.

Given the report only covered England and not the whole of the UK, the Local Government Association was considering the review through its Fire Services Management Committee prior to consideration at the NJC, which would then involve the devolved administrations and the unions.  These detailed discussions were on-going.  However it was clear the Report’s recommendations had the potential to impact to varying degrees on the Authority.  So it was considered prudent to consider the thrust and direction of the Report when framing and further developing LFRS’ main Human Resources and Organisational Development activities.  In this respect, an early gap analysis had been undertaken between the Report’s recommendations and the Service’s position which was considered by Members.  It was hoped that the gap analysis would also be beneficial in future interactions with the proposed inspectorate regime.

Key Themes

Employment costs were a significant element, if not the majority of costs for all Fire Services.

The main findings were summarised in pages 12-18 of the Report.

The themes emerging for consideration in the sector were:

·        How could some authorities make progress whilst others do not;

·        Greater cross fertilisation of issues should be developed (institutional learning);

·        The Conditions of Service and negotiation arrangements should be “modernised” including Role Maps and Duty Systems and content;

·        Issues in respect of employee engagement including culture and trust, including equality & diversity and bullying and harassment issues;

·        National Leadership development/standards;

·        Remove the Right to Strike;

·        Greater use of Retained Duty System, ie more RDS appliances;

·        Future Recruitment.

The key strap line was “where change is common sense, it should become common practice”.

Contained within the findings were many other areas such as governance and pay statements. 

Whilst the content of the Report, in some areas, was not considered robust, the thrust was in line with the Service’s HR strategies and should not be a significant issue in any inspection regime process.

RESOLVED: - That the assessment of the Service’s position against the findings of the Report and the current position be noted.

The Director of People and Development presented a report informing the Authority that in accordance with the provisions of the Localism Act 2011 a pay policy statement for 2017/18 had been prepared. 

The pay policy published data on senior salaries and the structure of the workforce and demonstrated the principles of transparency.

The pay policy statement set out the Authority’s policies for the financial year relating to:-

-        The remuneration of its chief officers;

-        The remuneration of its lowest paid employees;

-        The relationship between the remuneration of its chief officers and that of other employees who are not chief officers.

The statement included :-

-        The level and elements of remuneration for each chief officer;

-        Remuneration range for chief officers on recruitment;

-        Methodology for increases and additions to remuneration for each chief officer;

-        The use of performance-related pay for chief officers;

-        The use of bonuses for chief officers;

-        The approach to the payment of chief officers on their ceasing to hold office under, or be employed by, the authority, and

-        The publication of and access to information relating to the remuneration of chief officers.

It also included the Authority’s policies for the financial year relating to other terms and conditions applying to its chief officers. 

The approval of a pay policy statement could not be delegated by the Authority to a Panel and the Authority’s pay statement must be approved by the 31st of March each year.  Any decision under powers delegated to the Authority’s Constitution with regard to remuneration to be taken in 2017/18 would be bound by and must comply with the 2017/18 Statement.  The Director of People & Development must be consulted prior to any decision impacting on remuneration where there was any question regarding compliance with the Statement.

In general terms the Fire Authority recognised terms and conditions negotiated nationally by the National Employers with the National Employees’ bodies for 3 distinct staff groups.  These were: i)   National Joint Council for Brigade Managers (referred to in Lancashire Fire Authority as Principal Officers) of Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services (commonly referred to as ‘Gold Book’); ii) National Joint Council for Local Government Services (commonly referred to as ‘Green Book’); and iii) National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services (commonly referred to as ‘Grey Book’).

Under the definitions provided for within the Act, the officers included in this pay statement were the Chief Fire Officer (CFO), Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO), Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO), Director of Corporate Services (DoCS) and Director of People & Development (DoPD).  It was noted that the Treasurer responsibilities were undertaken by the Director of Corporate Services and the Monitoring Officer duties were undertaken by the Clerk to the Authority who was engaged on a contract for services basis. The Fire Authority had delegated responsibility for any local terms and conditions, including remuneration for chief officers, to the Appointments Panel/Succession Planning Sub-Committee.

A chosen natural internal benchmark for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72/16

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer advised that in April 2016 a programme of work was initiated aimed at Strengthening and Improving our Retained Service. The focus was to develop a programme which would deliver tangible improvements and further build on what was already an excellent retained service in Lancashire. Following extensive engagement with Retained Duty System (RDS) staff, six Task and Finish Groups were established: i) Introduce a new RDS Support Officer Role; ii) Appliance Availability; iii) Peer Support; iv) Technology; v) Think RDS; and vi) Communications.

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer provided an overview of the work which one of the Task and Finish Groups had recently completed regarding the introduction of a new Retained Support Officer (RSO) role. The group had identified key areas upon which the role could focus that would reduce the modern day-to-day challenges associated with running an effective and sustainable RDS Unit thereby improving: recruitment, retention, appliance availability, training, gathering of operational risk information, liaison with administrative support and staff engagement. The outcome was the introduction of 7 x RSOs posts into the Service.

Members welcomed the initiative which would provide extra support and help to improve recruitment.  The Assistant Chief Fire Officer confirmed that the RSO post allocation (as set out in the table on page 146 of the pack) was based on risk and the optimum crewing regime for each area.

RESOLVED: - That the Authority note the report.

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer presented the report which included the background to the development of new fibres and fabrics that provided enhanced personal protection in line with European firefighter personal protection equipment standards. 

Over the past two years the Service had been researching and evaluating a range of options for improving operational efficiency and enhanced firefighter health and safety as part of its future fighting strategy.  The concept of Technical Rescue Jackets was to provide firefighters with an alternative level of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) which would provide an increased level of personal safety and improve the performance of firefighters in the varied tasks undertaken during modern operational activities.

The concept of the Technical Rescue (Multi-Function) Jacket had been around for some time. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service had purchased a layered approach version approximately 18 Months ago however, this had proved problematic with wearers (particularly when utilising the garment for structural Firefighting) suffering from retained heat issues due to the extra layers. They had also had issues with the Multi-Function inner layer (Orange) jacket due to the textiles used in manufacture.  Therefore LFRS, Cumbria FRS and Cheshire FRS had looked at an alternative approach of having separate Multi-function and structural Jackets. An example of a Technical Rescue (multi-function) Jacket was demonstrated.

Advantages

The Technical Rescue (Multi-function) jackets were also less bulky and therefore provide greater comfort and dexterity for rescue type incidents, providing greater freedom of movement due to the garment’s ergonomic performance and reducing the effects of heat stress during warm weather and whilst worn under strenuous working conditions, such as at road traffic collisions when operating heavy rescue cutting equipment. The specification written for the jackets was for them to meet the relevant Hi-Viz standard; this enabled the jackets to be worn on Highways without the need for the current conspicuity coats which were issued to each appliance. The current conspicuity coats were issued per appliance and not per individual so there were current fit issues and maintaining the Hi-Viz standard, because when the coats got to a certain degree of discolouration they no longer met the standard. The Jackets would be issued on the pool system so this would be part of the cleaning and maintenance contract ensuring LFRS met obligations under the Health and Safety At Work Act and that LFRS staff were safe when operating on the roads.

The lighter-weight garment offered heat protection making it suitable for Moorland firefighting. Moorland Firefighting had historically caused issues for Firefighters becoming too hot wearing structural PPE. This was due to a number of factors, being the weather (usually warm weather related fires), the terrain to get the fire (generally involved a long trek over undulating ground) and the physical exertion of the Firefighting and close proximity to the fire involved with certain extinguishment techniques. This had led to Firefighters removing their structural tunics to prevent themselves overheating. However this practice then caused a serious health and safety issue, due to Moorland fires having the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 74/16

The report set out the Treasury Management Strategy for 2017/18, which was in line with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)'s revised Code of Practice and tied into the capital and revenue budgets, reported elsewhere on the agenda.

Statutory requirements 

The Local Government Act 2003 and supporting Regulations required the Authority to “have regard to” the CIPFA Prudential Code and the CIPFA Treasury Management Code of Practice to set Prudential and Treasury Indicators for the next three years to ensure that the Authority’s capital investment plans were affordable, prudent and sustainable.  This report fulfilled the Authority's legal obligation under the Local Government Act 2003 to have regard to both the CIPFA Code and the Communities and Local Government (CLG) Guidance.

Treasury Management Strategy for 2017/18

The Strategy Statement had been prepared in accordance with the CIPFA Treasury Management Code of Practice (2011).  Accordingly, the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority's Treasury Management Strategy would be approved by the full Authority, and there would also be a mid-year and a year-end outturn report presented to the Resources Committee. In addition there would be monitoring and review reports to Members in the event of any changes to Treasury Management policies or practices.  The aim of these reporting arrangements was to ensure that those with ultimate responsibility for the treasury management function appreciated fully the implications of treasury management policies and activities, and that those implementing policies and executing transactions had properly fulfilled their responsibilities with regard to delegation and reporting.

The Treasury Management Strategy covered the following aspects of the Treasury Management function:-

·        Prudential Indicators which would provide a controlling framework for the capital expenditure and treasury management activities of the Authority;

·        Current long-term debt and investments;

·        Prospects for interest rates;

·        The Borrowing Strategy;

·        The Investment Strategy;

·        Policy on borrowing in advance of need

Setting the Treasury Management Strategy for 2017/18

In setting the Treasury Management Strategy, the following factors had been considered as they might have a strong influence over the strategy adopted: economic forecasts, the level of the approved Capital Programme which generated the borrowing requirement; the current structure of the Authority’s debt portfolio and prospects for interest rates and market liquidity.

Economic Context

The major external influence on the Authority’s treasury management strategy for 2017/18 would be the UK’s progress in negotiating a smooth exit from the European Union. Financial markets, wrong-footed by the referendum outcome, had since been weighed down by uncertainty over whether leaving the Union also meant leaving the single market. In January The Prime Minister made a speech indicating that Brexit meant an exit from the Single Market and the Customs Union however the government would seek a trade deal with the EU for the greatest possible access with full reciprocity.  Negotiations were expected to start once the UK formally triggers exit in early 2017 and last for at least two years. Uncertainty over future economic prospects would therefore remain throughout 2017/18.

Interest Rate Forecasts

The prevailing and forecast interest rate situation would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 75/16

The Fire Authority held reserves to meet potential future expenditure requirements. The reserves policy was based on guidance issued by CIPFA.  It explained the difference between general reserves (those held to meet unforeseen circumstances) and earmarked reserves (those held for a specific purpose). In addition, the policy identified how the Authority determined the appropriate level of reserves and what these were.  The policy confirmed that the level of, and the appropriateness of reserves would be reported on as part of the annual budget setting process and as part of the year end accounting process.

General Reserves

Review of Level of Reserves

In determining the appropriate level of general reserves required by the Authority, the Treasurer was required to form a professional judgement, taking account of the strategic, operational and financial risk facing the Authority.  This was completed based on guidance issued by CIPFA, and included an assessment of the financial assumptions underpinning the budget, the adequacy of insurance arrangements and consideration of the Authority’s financial management arrangements. In addition, the assessment should focus on both medium and long-term requirements, taking account of the Medium Term Financial Strategy (as set out in the draft budget report discussed later on the agenda).  For Lancashire Combined Fire Authority this covered issues such as: uncertainty surrounding future funding settlements and the potential impact of this on the revenue and capital budget; uncertainty surrounding future pay awards and inflation rates; the impact of proposed changes to pension schemes; demand led pressures, risk of default associated with investments as set out in the Treasury Management Strategy etc.

The Treasurer considered it prudent to reduce the minimum target reserves level to £2.8m, 5.0% of the 2017/18 net revenue budget, a reduction on previous years due to indicative four year settlements but still maintained at a reasonable level to reflect on-going economic uncertainty and the underlying risks within the budget.

Should reserves fall below this minimum level the following financial year's budget would contain options for increasing reserves back up to this level.  (Note, this may take several years to achieve.)

Given the limited scope to increase council tax without holding a local referendum the ability to restore depleted reserves in future years was severely limited, hence based on professional judgement, the Treasurer felt that the maximum level should be maintained at £10.0m.

Should this be exceeded the following financial year’s budget would contain options for applying the excess balance in the medium term, i.e. over 3-5 years.

Current level of General Reserves

The overall level of the general fund balance, i.e. uncommitted reserves, anticipated at the 31 March 2017 was £10.2m. The draft capital programme allowed for a further transfer of £2.6m from general reserve to the capital programme in 2017/18, leaving a forecast balance of £7.6m, providing scope to utilise approx. £4.8m of reserves.

Based on current assumptions, and dependent upon council tax decisions, further drawdowns of between £0.7m and £4.1m might be required to balance the revenue budget over the next 3 years, i.e. the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76/16

A report was presented to the meeting in December requesting Members to give initial consideration to the Capital Programme for 2017/18-2021/22. The report highlighted anticipated spending of £23.1m compared with available funding of £26.1m, a funding surplus of £3.0m.  There were no changes to the draft programme as presented in December, as a result the overall capital programme remained:-

Although there were no changes to the draft programme it was noted that there was a possibility that the £0.8m budget in 2017/18 in relation to the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) may slip into 2018/19 should the national programme milestones be moved further backwards.  It was also noted that there was £0.2m capital budget allocated in 2016/17 for ESMCP which would be in a similar position.

A full breakdown of the programme was considered by Members.

The majority of the expenditure in the capital programme related to:-

• The on-going vehicle replacement programme;
• Replacement of operational equipment in line with assets lives;
• Building projects; and
• Replacement of ICT equipment in line with the current Asset Management Plan.

A further report would be presented to the Resources Committee in June, confirming the final year end capital outturn for 2016/17 and the impact of slippage from this on the programme.

Available Resources

The draft capital budget report identified total available funding of £26.1m to be used in the period. The Local Government Finance Settlement did not include any reference to any other future capital grant and hence no allowance had been made for this.

As referred to in the December capital budget report it was proposed to utilise £2.6m of general reserves to fund the 5 year programme, resulting in the Authority still holding £3.0m of capital receipts and reserves at the end of the  period, and therefore being in a stronger position to meet recurring capital requirements.

The final funding for the programme is set out below:-

Summary Position

The capital programme breaks even over the 5 year period:-

The overall programme showed a balanced position and hence the capital programme was considered affordable, prudent and sustainable.

Capital Reserves/Receipts

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77/16

At its last meeting in December 2016 the Authority gave initial consideration to the draft revenue budget, authorised consultation with representatives of non-domestic ratepayers and Trade Unions on the draft budget proposals and agreed to give further consideration to the budget at their next meeting on the 20th February 2017.

Budget Requirement

A draft budget of £53.9m was presented to the December 2016 meeting.  Further work had been ongoing to refine budget requirements resulting in an updated gross revenue budget requirement for 2017/18 of £54.3m.  This represented an increase due to refining staffing forecasts and that delays with the Emergency Services Mobile Communication Programme project pushed back associated savings to September 2018. 

The updated budget requirement of £54.3m still represented a reduction of 2.3% and allowed for the identification of £1.5m of efficiency savings.

Government Funding Settlement

The Government had confirmed that the multi-year settlement offers had been agreed with all single purpose fire and rescue authorities. Hence, barring exceptional circumstances, and subject to the normal statutory consultation process for the local government finance settlement, the Government expected these amounts to be presented to Parliament each year.

The Director of Corporate Services advised that the final Local Government Finance Settlement had not yet been received as it would not be debated in Parliament until 20 February at the earliest; hence it had been assumed that the final settlement would be consistent with the draft figures reported in December, i.e. £25.3m. 

In recent years the final settlement had been published later and later in February each year with this the first meeting that the Authority had not had this information.  The Director of Corporate Services did not anticipate that when published the figures would be different from the draft, given there had been only marginal changes in the past.  If the figures were marginally different however, this would be met from the drawdown of reserves or an additional savings target. 

As highlighted in the draft budget report, the Autumn Statement reaffirmed that Departmental spending would grow with inflation in 2021/22. However there would be significant variation between departments due to how the overall funding was distributed, and the level of protection afforded to some Departments, hence id had been assumed that funding would be frozen in 2021/22 and beyond.

Included within the Settlement Funding Assessment was an estimated amount in respect of locally retained Business Rates. Billing Authorities had now provided details of this, which showed a marginal reduction of £46k compared with the Government’s forecast.  Overall the settlement at £25.3m is in line with the draft budget.

Business Rate Adjustments

Business Rates were adjusted to reflect Section 31 grant received to offset lost local revenue arising from the Government’s decision to cap the business rates multiplier in previous years. The Government had not formally announced that this would not continue in 2017/18, nor had any indication been given that it would cease, and hence for the purpose of planning it had been assumed that this would be paid, in line  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78/16

In December 2007, the Authority introduced the ‘Champion’ role and allocated a notional budget per member in respect of four subject areas.  These positions were currently filled by:

·        Equality and Diversity – Councillor Terry Aldridge

·        Older People – County Councillor Mark Perks

·        Environment – County Councillor Ken Brown

·        Road Safety – Councillor Fred Jackson

Reports relating to the activity of the Member Champions were provided on a quarterly basis to the Authority.  This report related to activity for the period up to January 2017.  During this period, all have undertaken their respective role in accordance with the defined terms of reference.

County Councillor Taylor wished to praise Preesall Fire Cadets who had received their Dementia Friends badges and certificates and who were a credit to the Service.

RESOLVED: - That the Authority noted the report and acknowledged the work of the respective Champions.

A report detailing prosecutions in respect of fire safety management failures and arson related incidents within the period 1 December 2016 to 1 February 2017 was provided. There were 2 successfully completed prosecution under the regulatory reform (fire safety) order 2005, one of which is subject to an appeal.

Fire protection and business support information was provided which included details of the increased numbers of Primary Authority Schemes that now included Amber Taverns Ltd (who have 120 Public Houses across the North West, North East, Midlands and Wales) and EH Booths & Co Ltd (who have 28 stores across the North West).  The report also detailed the partnership work undertaken by LFRS Business Safety Advisors during the period and detailed protection work undertaken to provide advice to businesses.

Members noted that there were 4 arson convictions during the period.

RESOLVED: - That the Authority noted the report.

This report included information for the 2 Unitary and 12 District Authorities relating to Fire Safety initiatives and Fires and Incidents of particular interest.

As part of the report Members received a presentation by Simon Fryer, Area Manager, Head of Service Delivery on the Service’s response to a major fire at First Choice Car Spares in Altham on 7 December 2016.  It was noted that this was a significant fire which at its height involved 16 fire engines, a command unit, a high velocity pump, a hazardous materials unit and the air support unit.

The Vice-Chairman, in his capacity as both a County Councillor and Ward Councillor for the area expressed his gratitude to all the staff and agencies involved. 

In relation to the Wyre report, County Councillor Taylor praised the teams involved in the commercial building fire incident.  She also praised the Retained Duty Staff who had held dementia buddy coffee mornings in the area and who were now liaising with the local school where she was Chair of Governors to run another event.

RESOLVED:-  That the Authority noted and endorsed the report.

Oral report.

The Monitoring Officer confirmed that there had been no complaints since the last meeting.

RESOLVED: - That the current position be noted.

The next meeting of the Authority will be held on Monday 24 April 2017 at 1000 hours at Washington Hall Training Centre, Euxton.

The next meeting of the Authority would be held on Monday 24 April 2017 at 10:00am at the Training Centre, Euxton.